Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify the meaning of a Stage 1 Water Emergency.
CC Polymers has declined to move forward with a city proposal to acquire its desalination facility, one of many deals the city had hoped would help address Corpus Christi's water emergency, according to documents obtained by KRIS 6 News.
In a letter dated October 23, 2025, Jeff Shea, Chief Operating Officer of CC Polymers, informed City Manager Peter Zanoni that the company had "decided not to proceed with the proposed discussions regarding the potential acquisition of our Desalination property at this time."
Current projections show Corpus Christi will reach a Level 1 Water Emergency by November 2026, declared when the city is 180 days away from when the total water supply would not meet total water demand.
At an October 14 city council meeting, Nicholas Winkelmann, interim Chief Operating Officer of Corpus Christi Water, provided an update about this proposal to the council. The seawater desalination plant, located on the ship channel, was described as "anywhere from 90 to 95% complete" but had never been in operation, Winkelmann told council members.
Winkelmann said the plant could be upgraded to produce 31.5 million gallons per day and would cost $654 million. With CC Polymers requiring 7 MGD for a fully operational plant, "that would leave 24 MGD long-term for the city if the upgrades and permitting challenges could be addressed," he said.
However, Winkelmann acknowledged significant concerns about the facility's condition. "The equipment itself is primarily installed under a canopy. It's been out in the weather," he reported during the meeting. "We know the environment here is very harsh, and of course, the condition is aged, and we don't know its current condition."
Winkelmann also noted a key complication, "The plant is owned by three entities and we need all of those entities to be in agreement before we move forward with further negotiations."
Documents obtained by KRIS 6 News show that City Councilman Gil Hernandez had been directly involved in negotiating terms with CC Polymers. In an email dated July 24, 2025, marked "high importance" and sent to City Manager Zanoni and former Chief Operating Officer of Corpus Christi Water Drew Molly, Hernandez outlined "the terms we discussed with CCP."
The councilman's email detailed CC Polymers' initial offer, which included a $200 million "as-is" purchase price, with optional add-ons of $25 million to complete construction and train an operation team for 10 million gallons per day (MGD), and another $20 million to facilitate expansion to 25 MGD.
However, the presentation to City Council indicated a cost of $654 million.
Despite rejecting the city's acquisition, Shea's letter indicated CC Polymers remains "open to exploring alternative forms of collaboration," including a water supply agreement, long-term expansion options, and land leasing for water infrastructure. The company set a deadline of November 30, 2025, after which it would "explore direct water supply opportunities with private industry."
The company wrote, "CC Polymers will move forward and explore direct water supply opportunities with private industry."
Zanoni told KRIS 6 News last week that the city is pursuing multiple water projects that could total approximately 68 million gallons per day.
A Water Supply Dashboard presentation dated October 21, 2025, shows three scenarios for the city's water future. The most optimistic scenario assumes all projects come online on schedule and would avoid triggering a Level 1 Water Emergency entirely. However, each scenario is contingent on obtaining necessary permits and achieving projected production levels from groundwater sources.
"If everything comes online as we're anticipating, there is no curtailment. Supply will always be enough for demand, and that's the best outcome," Zanoni said following a media briefing last week. However, he acknowledged that "every project that we're working on has some type of risk to it."
The city plans to present updated water supply projections to the City Council in November.
